(upbeat energetic music) - [Zavis] Come on, let's go!

- [Jason] It's 8:00 AM Saturday morning.

- [Zavis] Where is my remote?

Y'all see me with the remote?

- [Jason] Safe to say most people are at home relaxing, morning Joe in hand, maybe even still in bed.

- Step!

Up!

Step.

- Okay.

- [Jason] Not at "Zay Fitness".

- Maya, why you doing push ups like that?

I taught you better than that.

See you left too long, so that's what you get!

- [Jason] Zavis Padgett works the room, encouraging everyone working out in his gym.

- There you go.

Good job!

All the way up!

All the way up!

- [Jason] With a giant Bluetooth speaker pumping out hip hop, Zay's classes are part CrossFit, part weightlifting, and part cardio.

50 seconds of intense workout, one minute of rest, repeat.

For an hour.

- Whoa!

Let's go y'all!

Go to the last one!

Last one!

Let's go y'all.

I enjoy helping people get in shape.

I've always been that type of person.

I like to help others.

That's always been my passion to always help others.

So when people come through the door, I try to treat 'em like family.

- [Jason] Charlotte born and bred, Zay graduated from Independence High School in 2006, where he was part of the Patriot's Public High School National Record of 109 straight football victories.

- Because I thought, "I'ma be an NFL player."

Like, we all thought.

I played football, I went to some of the camps, didn't make it.

Came home like, "Okay, now what?"

- [Jason] After college he took a job working at FedEx, which was fine, just not overly fulfilling.

- So he was working at night at FedEx and in the morning training clients, and I think he found his passion.

- I was afraid to quit.

'Cause I'm like, "I have, you know, a lot of security there."

And I was afraid, and I was just talking about it, I said, "You know what?

I'm gonna go out on it.

"I'm gonna trust God and go out on faith."

And that's what I did.

You should not be hiding your sister.

Get low.

There you go!

(client groaning) Oh naw, you want your hips right?

Come on, come on!

- [Jason] Opening his own gym, Zay has built up his clientele over the last few years.

Not through advertising but through social media.

- And I ran across his page on Instagram.

- So I saw how his workouts were and I'm like, "Oh, I think that's for me!"

- I saw him, he was local in the area, very affordable, judgment-free zone.

- When he came up, he had muscles.

"Oh!

He looks like he works out!"

And what drew me in was when I went to his Instagram page, I seen pictures of his family, his wife and his child.

And I was like, "He's a family man."

And that was just it for me.

- [Jason] It's not just that he's on social media.

It's what he's posting there that's drawing people's attention.

His social media presence.

- It's crazy.

(laughing) - [Jason] There's the one video with his son going over the various food groups.

- What is chicken?

- Protein.

- Good job.

What is rice?

- Carbs.

- What is green beans?

- A vegetable.

- Give me five, boy!

That's what I'm talking about, boy!

Let 'em know why you gonna be big and strong, right?

- Yes.

- [Jason] And the one that's causing quite a stir posted in November and viewed more than 2 million times talking about the negative aspect of his hometown growing so big so fast.

- If you are not from Charlotte, North Carolina, please stop moving here.

We have enough of you New Yorkers, you DC people, you Boston, all y'all northerners, stop moving here.

Y'all making our rent go up.

Y'all making everything go up.

We have traffic like Atlanta now.

Y'all need to stop moving.

Move to Atlanta!

Move to Houston!

Don't come to Charlotte.

I'm tired of this.

I should not, it should not take me 30 minutes to go five miles down the road.

Please, y'all.

So I stuck it on Instagram and it took off.

- [Jason] What'd you think when you saw that one?

- I was like, "Lord, Zay, you done took it too far."

I was like, "You done took it too far.

Oh my God!"

Like, and he was coming in, he was like, "They are eating me up in these comments."

And he was laughing about it and he just thought it was hilarious because he was like, "Look, these people are getting angry."

And I'm like... You know, but that's him, though.

That's him.

- I was really just playing.

- I shared it, I reposted it.

- But I think people took it the wrong way and like, it was like a dig, like with something personal towards them.

But it is never personal with him.

- I thought it was funny, you know, and he has some truth to it.

It is getting a little congested.

- But it's helping my business, though, 'cause now they come to my page, they see that I'm a trainer, they're like, "Oh, he seems like a nice-- "Oh, he's in Charlotte.

Oh my God!"

And they just been pouring in.

- [Jason] Zay insists he's not trying to create the next viral video and he doesn't really know the secret of doing it other than just being himself.

- Some people just give up when they're not getting likes.

I just kept posting and posting.

I said, "One day, one is gonna do what it needs to do."

And it took off and I was like, "Oh wow!"

- And I feel like most of his stuff that he plans doesn't always do as well as the stuff that's like random.

- [Jason] With nearly 50,000 Instagram followers, it should probably come as no surprise that Zay met his wife, Kyndle, through social media, a personal trainer, herself.

- We are doing a workout that will take you less than 20 minutes to do.

No equipment needed.

Straight cardio workout.

I was getting into my personal training business and things and I was following more fitness trainers and things like that.

And somehow, he stumbled onto my pages.

Someone I was following.

I ended up coming to one of his group sessions.

I had my hair straightened.

I had it up in a bun, and he's like, "Come on Man Bun, get it done!"

Like, he just... (laughing) Like, the stuff you're thinking, right?

"You look like you have a little man bun, girl."

- Eight!

- And it's that part - Seven!

- that keeps Zay's clients - Six!

- coming back.

- Five!

- His personality.

- Four!

- Just being him.

- Three!

I'm not trying to down you, I'm just telling you the truth about it.

I'm trying to help you.

- He's just real.

He just keeps it all the way.

What the cool kids call a hundred.

Like, he just keeps it all the way a hundred with you.

He's not gonna sugarcoat it.

You know, if he see you slacking, he gonna call you out for it.

- [Jason] And he's also known for following his clients on their social media.

- Don't let me find your Instagram.

I'll be in all your comments.

- [Jason] And if he sees something he doesn't like, he lets 'em know about it.

- He see you eating ice cream, he gonna call you out for it.

- If they post anything that I'm like, "Well, you out drinking, huh?

Oh really?"

and I just put a emoji in their face like, "Hm, interesting."

"Can't wait to see you on Monday."

(laughs) And they always like, "Oh my God!"

"I need to block you!"

- [Jason] Creating a thriving business in the 2020s and using social media - C'mon, y'all!

- as the main vehicle.

- Let's go!

For "Carolina Impact", - C'mon!

- I'm Jason Terzis reporting.

- [Zavis] Let's go, ladies and gentlemen!